The key facts

  • The share of students below the basic mathematics level has grown in almost all European countries compared to 2018.
  • North Macedonia recorded 68% below basic level; Estonia had the best result at 17.2%, though it worsened from 10.2%.
  • Norway saw the sharpest deterioration, with the share nearly doubling from 18.9% to 38%; Turkey was the only country to improve slightly.

The PISA international assessment program tests not only students' mathematical knowledge but also their ability to apply it in practical situations —.

According to Naked Science, citing Eurostat data, compared with 2018 the share of students showing low results in mathematics has increased in almost all European countries.

In particular, in North Macedonia the share of those who failed to reach the basic level rose from 61 percent to 68 percent. In Bulgaria, Cyprus, Montenegro, Serbia and Romania, more than half of students also failed to reach this level.

The best indicator in the comparison was recorded in Estonia: the share of students with mathematical literacy below the basic level was 17.2 percent. However, even in this country the result worsened — in 2018 the figure was 10.2 percent.

In Switzerland, the share of students who failed to reach the basic level was 23.2 percent, and in Ireland it was 24.2 percent.

Turkey was the only country among those included in the comparison where this indicator improved slightly. There, the share of students showing low results fell from 36.6 percent in 2018 to 35.7 percent in 2025.

The sharpest deterioration was observed in Norway. In the country, the share of those who failed to reach the basic level in mathematics rose from 18.9 percent to 38 percent, an increase of almost twofold. A significant decline was also recorded in Cyprus, Slovenia and Iceland.

PISA assesses mathematical literacy across six main levels. The second level is considered basic: a student who reaches it is regarded as having the minimum mathematical skills necessary to live and work in modern society.

Failing to reach the basic level does not mean the student knows no mathematics at all. It means their ability to apply their knowledge in solving practical problems falls short of the established minimum benchmark.